K9 Training Center

Toilet Training your puppy:

the easiest way to toilet train your puppy is the crate method. When you adopt your dog confine him/her in a small area preferably a crate. Only allow your puppy to come out of the crate at feeding, play and toilet time.
Feed your puppy at the same times every day. Be beside him/her when you feed and then re-crate. After 10-15 minutes take your puppy out of the crate straight to the toilet area, preferably get your puppy to walk but carry incase of accidents for the first few days. Waite patiently whilst your puppy tends to business. It is a good idea to use newspaper if you are not using the back garden gravel or dirt. Do not use marble, tiled, cement etc. flooring. Once your puppy has finished business praise and play a little. Puppy's will generally require an extra toilet trip between meals, so adjust accordingly. In a short time puppy will be sniffing around for his special spots when taken to the look so its a good idea to leave a little original odor. The best position for the confinement area or crate is close by the toilet as a puppy will leave things top the last minute and may not hold or with to hold until toilet arrival. In a short period of time your puppy will be going directly to the toilet area and you will know that you have succeeded.
Another option is laying out newspaper all over where your puppy is living. After a few toilet sessions you will notice that your puppy begins to prefer certain spots when this happens reduce the newspaper to these spots and gradually move them together to a single spot. then you can gradually move the newspaper towards the final destination.
Do NOT use newspaper for puppy's that haven't been fully vaccinated.
When we take on a dog for House Breaking training we most generally succeed to teach toilet manners in the first 2 to 3 days and have it as a standard routine by day 4 or 5.

Teaching whose boss:
Dogs are pack animals and every pack has one leader known as the pack leader, alpha, etc. Your dog must accept you as the alpha. Once you have been accepted as boss life will be much easier for both sides. Your dog will obey and will want to please you much more. There are simple rules for this. Rule one is provide your dog with love, food, shelter and a monotone life. Get your dog to sit for food, eye contact is great, and get your dog to eat on command. Never feed from the table unless you get your dog to do something for each treat. Make sure that you can take food from your dog. If new at this and especially if you have a dominant dog be careful! Approach kindly and use slow motion. Any snarl, growl, raised nose is an indication to back off. These are signs that your dog believes that he is the boss and in these cases seeking professional help is best. A good method that we use is: Get your dog in the sit position and lay out a few objects that your dog isn't bothered about a couple of meters in front of him. Walk around and pick up an object do a circle and replace. Do this with all objects. Continue for a few short sessions. Then try the same method with one object he fancies like his squeaky ball. Do the same including the squeaky ball. Any growling or raised nose must be carefully examined and in such a case repeat the sit command and walk away with the toy and then replace it a circle or two and then retake the same object. When he is accustomed to this and isn't showing even the slightest reaction praise and give the object to him and if a toy a little play will help. Eventually put a piece of favorite food in between the line of objects. Every time that there is no reaction give it to him but do NOT tease give it plain and straight. Gradually bring this line closer and closer until directly beneath his nose. Once succeeded at dinner times call him get him in the sit position. Put his bowl down half full then retake and fill it then set down and give the eat command. Repeat for a few meals. Put a small quantity of food in the bowl and allow him to eat it up then take the bowl and put in a bit more. Repeat until he has had his normal serving. Continue for a few sessions. Then its time to see if your patience has payed up. put in a small quantity of food and when half finished take the bowl from him. Fill it and replace. If you succeed this then you have succeeded. You will already have seen the difference in character.
Never ever play with food. People find it fun pretending to go for the dogs food and getting him to growl. This is a really stupid thing to do. A game for you but only for today. Dogs do not see this as a game they see it as a challenge for dominance and because you quickly pull your hand away when he growls you have shown him that you have backed off and accepted his position as pack leader!
If your dog listens to one member but not the other member in the family then the member who has been accepted as leader must NOT interfere with the proceedings or they will back fire to a worse degree.